St. Augustine Founders Day Landing Ceremony

On September 3rd, the Historic Florida Militia, in partnership with the Mission Nombre de Dios will celebrate Founders Day with reenactments on these historic sites.

A recreation of the Landing of Pedro Menendez de Aviles and the Founding of Saint Augustine begins at 10 AM with a 16th-century longboat replica. The Landing ceremony will include Menendez naming the new Spanish settlement in honor of Saint Augustine.

Native Americans and Spanish settlers will greet the landing party with waving flags and cannon fire, and the ceremony continues with a blessing by Father Lopez, Spain’s expedition chaplain. Bishop Felipe Esteves will lead a Catholic Mass at the site of the New World’s first Mass celebration, followed by a meet and greet with reenactors.

Historians (some on horseback), ceremony participants, and mission pilgrims will proceed from the Mission Nombre de Diosalong city streets and through the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.

Here, guests will enjoy a historical recreation of the real First Thanksgiving, the one that occurred here in Saint Augustine 55 years before the Pilgrims ever stepped foot on Plymouth Rock. As an added treat, the City of Saint Augustine will provide cake to celebrate the occasion.